The new Adam Sandler film Blended opened in the US with a PG classification. In Australia, the same film was first classified M but the Australian Classification Board revised it to PG, warning: “Sexual references and crude humour’’.

But it was New York Times chief film critic Anthony Oliver Scott who probably offered parents the soundest advice when deciding whether its content was suitable. “Blended is rated PG-13 (parents strongly cautioned). It will make your children stupid,’’ he wrote.

Blurred lines in classifications

The film’s rating highlights a dilemma faced by parents the world over: How old is old enough to start allowing children to watch certain television programs or movies? But in an age of free-to-air digital television and Foxtel the lines are blurred further.

Historically parents have been guided by the Office of Film and Literature Classification – now Australian Classification – but the rise of channels such as ABC4Kids, ABC3, Nickelodeon and NickJr make the decision all the more difficult.

During daytime children’s programming, the content on these channels carry a General, or G, rating but the difference between them can be vast – from a benign but likable pig in Peppa Pig to cartoons depicting stylised violence and drama shows involving teenage themes such as intimate relationships, body image and social angst. The ABC says on its website that the content on ABC3 is aimed at children aged six to 15 – but you have to go looking for that advice.

Essentially, apart from R18+ and X18+ – two classifications restricted by law to people over the age of 18 – it is ultimately up to the parent’s discretion.

Parents are not following the guidelines

Child psychologist Dr John Irvine said that if all parents followed the ratings guidelines it would be simple – but he added: “Society is rarely uncomplicated.’’

Instead, he said, many parents either let their children watch what they wanted to be “cool parents’’, which put pressure on the stricter parents, or simply did not bother to check ratings.

“I do think parents are far too slack in what they let kids watch and their supervision of it,’’ he said.

Irvine said today’s youth were exposed to 10,000 violent or sexualised images by the time they reached high school. “We’re definitely breeding a different sort of kid,’’ he said.

Irvine said children often wanted to watch movies or programs aimed at more mature audiences because it was a status symbol among peers and created tensions at home when they argued: “But So-and-so’s parents let them watch it.”

Know your classifications

While film and video game ratings are handled by Australian Classification, television is self-regulated under the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice and policed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. However, they all employ uniform guidelines for:

G (general)

PG (parental guidance for those under 15)

M (mature, not recommended for under 15)

MA15+ (legally restricted to those over 15) ratings

The MA15+ rating is legally restricted, meaning a teenager may have to show identification when buying a movie ticket or video game, but it is not illegal for a parent to buy a child under 15 a ticket and watch it with them. The same applies to MA15+ video games.

R18+ is legally restricted to those over 18 while X18+ is a pornography rating for movies.

Ratings are determined against various broadcasting and gaming legislation and three principals: the importance of context, assessing impact and six ”classifiable elements’’ including themes, violence, sex, language, drug use and nudity.

Do you check the classifications of every TV show and movie your kids watch, and on the games they play? have you ever let your kids watch something out of their classified age group?